Tie Vote Stalls Porr Appeal By Hanover

July 23, 1986|by JANIS BARNEY, The Morning Call

Hanover Township will not appeal a ruling by a Northampton County judge that a township ordinance was enacted improperly.

Not this week, anyway.

Northampton County Judge Robert A. Freedberg ruled in favor of four township residents earlier this month when he said the first ordinance establishing a Planned Office, Research and Residential (PORR) zone was improperly enacted.

A motion to appeal the decisionfailed by a 2-2 vote last night, with three votes needed for approval. Supervisor Frank Colon did not attend the meeting.

Supervisor Marie Lychak, who voted in favor of the appeal along with Chairman Stephen Salveson, said she would bring the matter up again at the next meeting, when Colon would be present. Supervisors Glenn Walbert and John Diacogiannis voted against the measure.

The amendment to the ordinance, approved June 25, 1985, established a PORR zone near Schoenersville Road and Route 22.

The ordinance was the subject of a public hearing but was revised before being approved by the supervisors. Four residents appealed in court, claiming, among other things, that changes were made to the ordinance between the time it was advertised and the time it was passed by supervisors, and the ordinance was re-enacted in November after another public hearing.

Freedberg's decision dealt with the June 25 enactment; a decision is pending on the November approval.

"The problem I have with appealing is that (Freedberg) decided it on a dead ordinance," Diacogiannis said. "We passed a subsequent ordinance that took care of the problem." He said a possible unfavorable decision on the November approval should be appealed.

Walbert said an appeal, which township solicitor James Broughal estimated would cost $1,500, would be "a waste of township money."

Appealing the decision would test the severability clause included in every township ordinance, Salveson said. He said the judge should have separated the sections of the ordinance that had been improperly enacted "without throwing out the whole ordinance."

In other business, the supervisors informally approved the concept of a plan to improve the storm water drainage situation on Bridle Path Road. Representatives of St. Nicholas' Russian Orthodox Church explained that a compromise agreement was reached between the church and Bridle Path Estates developer Joy Pham after Pham filed a lawsuit against the church.

The supervisors had previously withheld approval for Pham's 10-lot subdivision pending some sort of agreement with the church. Before the lawsuit, the church had denied Pham permission to breach a berm on the church's property to allow storm water to run through to a swale.

Under the agreement, the two parties would share the cost of the project, which engineer James Lancsek said would not be completed until the township had constructed its planned storm water system in the area.

"We have no problem with the correction of a drainage problem," Salveson said, but no action was taken on the matter as no plan had been officially submitted to the board.

The board also voted to allow developer Stephen Kolbe to build 79 townhouses in his 18-acre development between Stoke Park Road and Route 22.

Although a current township ordinance would allow the 79 units, a pending amendment could decrease the allowed density. Broughal said the board could require Kolbe to conform to that ordinance, and Kolbe had asked for a decision.

Salveson said the board will act on the density change, as well as a proposed change to the zoning map, at its Aug. 12 meeting.

The board also approved the release of 15 more building permits in the development. Eight of the permits may be released immediately; the remaining seven will be held until township engineer James Birdsall determines that sufficient improvements have been completed.

Broughal was asked to inform Lorah Excavating that it has five days to complete work on a park in Suburban Estates. Birdsall said the project, which included seeding andgrading of the land, is "95 percent done," and the letter is being sent in an effort to "get him to finish up." Salveson said the township will do the work and charge Lorah Excavating.

The final plan for Franklin Realty Development Corp.'s 25,000-square-foot office building in the Bethlehem Business Park also was approved.

The supervisors authorized the release of $1,000 from this year's budget to begin work on a history and map of the township.